Evolving Humanity Beyond Competition, Vaccines, and a Time to Die

Somehow I omitted the diagram below in illustrating Dr. Sahtouris’s explanation of evolution from a biological perspective. And just maybe there was serendipity in that. The core idea, is humanity like all living things, is still evolving. We find ourselves in an immature stage of the process, where competition and conflict continue to wreak havoc. If we don’t annihilate ourselves or the planet in the meantime, at some point we will evolve to a more mature phase of evolution, based on cooperation.

As you watch this octogenarian biologist, notice how much energy she has. She has not been to an MD in 36 years. She did go to a local healer in the Greek village she was living in after being attacked by a donkey several years ago. Her water bottle on Friday was spiked with raw turmeric, ginger and black pepper. Which I must try. I might have had as much energy as she has when I was in my 20s. After the show we went together to celebrate the 100th birthday of Jean Erdman Campbell. Dr. Sahtouris said she has no intention of living to 100.

Jean Erdman Campbell (Mrs. Joseph Campbell) photo credit: Tim Sprowls

Once I drove six hours to attend a dance workshop with Jean. On her 100th birthday, she gave me a lei. photo credit: Tim Sprowls

Jean, a avant-garde dancer and Hawai’i native, had a kind of beatific presence. It made me weep. Something made me go to her and touch that precious 100 year old hand. When I did, to my astonishment, she gave me one of the lei she was wearing.

After the birthday party it was on to Manoa Valley Theater for a stage performance of Harold and Maude. At the end of the play, Maude celebrates 80 years of exuberant living by dying on her own terms. Instantly I though how grateful I was that Elisabet Sahtouris and Jean Erdman Campbell had not made that choice. Yet Maude’s choice I respect and admire. I haven’t had a chance to talk to my friend Lala Buzzell who played Harold’s vapid mother outstandingly, but I’m dying to know what kinds of discussions were had over the months of preparation and performance about Maude’s choice. Why in the United States is there stigma about individuals wanting to control how and when they depart this life?

For the same immature reason we think a very few people have the right to mandate forced chemical injections into the very fragile living systems of human babies to protect the population at large– knowing that a certain percentage of them will be damaged for life or die? Yes, I’m back to Elisabet and our discussion on vaccines. Those of you who want to do the research, here is a handy site with links to Hawaii State 2016 vaccine bills. I don’t like this site’s inflammatory language, but it is handy. In relatively few words, here’s some pretty objective reasons the bills should not pass. This information is from the linked site.

There is No Compelling State Interest. There is no public health emergency or compelling state interest that justifies forcing vaccination by violating the right to freedom of conscience and personally held sincere religious beliefs.

High Vaccination Rates, Low Vaccine Exemption Rates.In the 2013-2014 school year, the CDC reported[51] that an estimated 99% of kindergarten children in Hawaii had received five DTaP shots; 98.7% had received two MMR shots and 99.2% had received two varicella zoster shots, (The CDC excluded Hawaii’s rates in the 2014-2015 report[52]) The CDC also reported[52] only 754 students had religious vaccine exemptions in the whole state, giving Hawaii the distinction of having one of the highest vaccination rates in the country along with low vaccine exemption rates.

Vaccine Manufacturers Have No Civil Liability. The 1986 law partially shielded drug companies selling vaccines in the U.S. from civil liability and, in 2011, the US Supreme Court completely[61] shielded vaccine manufacturers from liability[61] for FDA licensed and CDC recommended vaccines. There is no product liability or accountability for pharmaceutical companies marketing federally recommended and state mandated vaccines that injure Americans or cause their death, which makes flexible medical and non-medical vaccine exemptions in vaccine policies and laws[62] the only way Americans can protect themselves and their children from vaccine risks and failures.There is No Compelling State Interest. There is no public health emergency or compelling state interest that justifies forcing vaccination by violating the right to freedom of conscience and personally held sincere religious beliefs.

From the Facebook comments it seems we are not evolved enough to have a reasonable discussion. I’m not going to waste more energy on it. I’m not going to have more children. My niece who is having babies, knows better. I’d rather spend what time I have left doing things like dancing. Maybe I’ll start planning my moonlit death scene–or at least the soundtrack. My sweetheart has his planned already, but then, he’s more evolved.